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Capcom Embraces Hollywood

Games and movies now go together like peanut butter and jelly...at least from a financial respective. And that isn't likely to change any time soon, so one videogame company is being a bit more proactive.

The big publisher plans to expand in Los Angeles, and is reportedly considering shipping staff from Japan in order to "better secure movie licenses for games." After all, why not have employees right at the heart of the matter?

It was senior vice president of licensing, Germaine Gioia, who made this clear as a distinct possibility to the Hollywood Reporter. Gioia, previously the VP of Licensing for competitor THQ, claims the reason behind the idea centers on the rising costs for developing games on next-gen consoles. As of now, it can cost up to $12 million to create and produce a game for those consoles, and due to that lofty number, Capcom wants to have as big an audience as humanly possible.

"I think it is becoming clear that the very largest successful publishers are delivering more and more of a balance to the marketplace," said Gioia. "They need [not only] their own intellectual property and good solid original development but [also] licensed product that can reach across cultures."

Worry not, gamers, Gioia went on to say the're not altering their core gaming focus. At the same time, the same teams responsible for great titles like Resident Evil might soon be working on movie-to-game projects. And that means we might finally start to see some top-notch videogames based on films.

Capcom doesn't have a lengthy record of such games, but they do have a long relationship with Hollywood. There have been two Resident Evil movies (with a third currently in post-production), and the company is currently working to produce a new Street Fighter movie with popular female fighter Chun Li as the main character. And as no surprise to anyone, Capcom has already sold the film rights to both Devil May Cry and Onimusha.

The closer games come to looking like movies, and the more mainstream the industry becomes, the more we can expect to see moves like this.